When she enters the fleet sometime this year, USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG-125) will be the first of the Flight III variants Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. Among the crew of this state-of-the-art ship of war will be 18-year-old men and women. If you think for a moment that any of them are too young, consider the incredible story of the man in whose honor their ship is named. Jack Lucas was younger than they were when he lied his way into the Marines and blazed a path of glory that earned him the nation’s highest military honor.

Jacklyn “Jack” Lucas wanted to serve his country. It was 1942, and the world was at war. He was desperate to make a difference, but there was one problem. He was too young to enlist. Eighteen-year-olds could sign up on their own. With parental consent, a 17-year-old could enlist. Getting parental consent wouldn’t help Jack, though. He was only 14.

He wasn’t even old enough to shave, but he knew he could carry a weapon. Forging his mother’s name on a parental consent form was the easy part. Getting a notary to authenticate her signature took some bribery. He showed up at the Marine Corps Reserve in Norfolk, Virginia on August 8, 1942, declaring himself to be three years older than he really was and ready, willing, and able to fight for his country.

Fortunately, Jack looked older than he really was. He was a burly young man, standing at 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) and weighing 180 pounds (82 kg). His deception worked, and Jack became a member of the U.S. Marine Corps.

During his training at Parris Island, South Carolina, he began to distinguish himself. He fulfilled all of the physical requirements and qualified as a sharpshooter. From there, he was assigned to the Marine barracks at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida. In June 1943, he was transferred to the 21st Replacement Battalion at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina. The next month he went to the 25th Replacement Battalion at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina to qualify as a heavy machine gun crewman.

On November 4, 1943, the 15-year-old Jack left the continental United States, fully qualified to serve. He was assigned to the 6th Base Depot of the V Amphibious Corps at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. On January 29, 1944, he was promoted to private first class.

Despite his impressive accomplishments, coupled with the extent of his deception, Jack was far from satisfied. The war was raging in the Pacific and Europe, but he was seeing none of it. As far removed from combat as he was, he might as well still be at his home with his mother. After nearly a year at Pearl Harbor, Jack made up his mind to find the fighting.

On January 10, 1945, 16-year-old Jack Lucas left camp without telling anyone where he was going. That evening, when he failed to report for roll call, he was declared UA (Unauthorized Absence).

Jack snuck aboard the USS Deuel and passed himself off as part of the battalion of Marines that was headed out to sea. One day before his status would have been changed from UA to “deserter,” he turned himself in to the commanding officer.

When Jack found out what his punishment would be, he could barely conceal his delight. Unsurprisingly, he was busted from private first class to private. Aside from that, he was going to get exactly what he had been wanting since he was 14. He was reassigned to C Company as a rifleman and would be putting his sharpshooting skills to the test very soon.

One week after turning himself in, Jack observed his 17th birthday at sea as the ship neared the island of Iwo Jima.

The Battle of Iwo Jima is infamous. During thirty-six days of fighting, 7,000 U.S. soldiers were killed and 20,000 were wounded. Some of the most intense combat of the entire war took place on an island no more than 8 square miles (20 square km) in area. This was Jack’s introduction to the combat service he had longed for.

Jack landed on Iwo Jima on February 19. The next day he and three other Marines were crawling through a twisting ravine when they spotted an enemy pillbox and 11 Japanese soldiers. As the two sides exchanged gunfire, the Japanese soldiers threw two grenades at their attackers. Jack was the first to see them and yelled, “Grenades!” Before his comrades could react, Jack leaped over one Marine and dove for the grenades. He stuffed one of them in the volcanic ash and soft sand before covering it with his body. One of the grenades exploded, hurling Jack through the air. He hit the ground with severe injuries in the right arm and wrist, right leg and thigh, and chest. Still conscious despite his wounds, Jack saw that he was still holding the other grenade in his left hand. Miraculously, it did not explode.

Jack’s actions spared his comrades from harm. They were certain he could not have survived the explosion and left him for dead. He was later found by another unit and was evacuated to a hospital ship. All told he would endure 21 surgeries. Even so, physicians were forced to leave about 200 pieces of shrapnel in his body — some as large as a 22-caliber bullet. As a result, Jack would set off metal detectors in airports for the rest of his life.

Jack’s heroic action saved the lives of his fellow Marines. His superiors also decided it more than merited removing the mark of attempted desertion from his record. On September 18, 1945 — a little more than two weeks after World War II came to a close — Jack was discharged from the Marine Corps Reserves due to disability. Before the discharge became official, he was reappointed to his former rank of private first class.

On October 5, 1945, Jack was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Harry S. Truman. He was 17 years, 7 months, and 21 days old — still too young to enlist without parental consent.

One would think Jack had experienced enough adventure for a lifetime, but he wasn’t done yet. He got his business degree and could have settled down, but there was one thing that always bothered him. He was afraid of heights. He decided the best way to overcome that fear was to face it head-on. In 1961, Jack enlisted in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper. He soon had a chance to confront his fear in a way not faced by most. During a training jump, both of his parachutes malfunctioned. Once again, Jack beat the odds and survived.

Jack volunteered to go fight in the Vietnam War, but his request to be deployed in a combat role was denied. He retired from the Army in 1965 with the rank of Captain.

Jack returned to civilian life and opened a chain of butcher shops in Maryland. Even in civilian life, he had battles to face. In 1977, Jack’s second wife and son-in-law were convicted of attempting to kill him. Jack asked the court for leniency, and they were sentenced to probation. Ultimately, the battle that he was unable to win was against the government he had served his entire life. The IRS came after Jack for unpaid taxes and took his disability benefits from him. By the 1980s, Jack was impoverished and without a home.

Jack died from leukemia on June 5, 2008. He remains the youngest person to be awarded the nation’s highest military honor.

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